Mission

The National Center for Access to Justice is the academically affiliated national organization that relies on data to accomplish policy reforms that help people obtain justice in the courts.

We count on our system of justice to halt domestic violence, stop unlawful evictions and foreclosures, preserve the unity of families, secure wages that are owed, and in some circumstances to halt and reverse unfair criminal proceedings. But, too often, people cannot get into court, be understood in court, obtain the legal help they need, and secure a just result. In civil cases, 80% of the legal needs of the poor are unmet. In criminal cases, people are entitled to receive free counsel if they cannot afford a lawyer, but only the poorest obtain it, often it is late, and in many communities its quality is impaired.

Justice is among our society’s most profound values. What is access to justice? It means that people can learn of their rights and then give voice to them through a neutral and nondiscriminatory process that determines the facts, applies the fair rule of law, and enforces the result. In its essence it is the real and meaningful right to be heard.

NCAJ is relying on data to make the United States justice system more accessible and fair. In its flagship project, the Justice Index, www.justiceindex.org, NCAJ uses the latest data analytics and data visualization strategies to create incentives for establishing best policies for access to justice in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. In other projects, NCAJ is doing research on new models of legal assistance, including those involving “non-lawyers”, and is also working to strengthen language assistance and disability assistance in our state justice systems.

At the Franklin Williams Commission’s, Mass Incarceration: Mercy Matters, an all-day event oversubscribed at 250 people with attendance by NY judges at Fordham Law School this week, David Udell, NCAJ’s executive director & a co-director of the Fordham Law School… Read more

Please click here for a blog post on the panel discussion, on the Access to Justice Initiative page of the web site of Fordham Law School. Please click here to obtain NCAJ’s Concept Memo accompanied by links to key readings from the… Read more

On January 26, David Udell, executive director of the National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham Law School, delivered the keynote address at the annual Justice for All Luncheon of the New York State Bar Association. In the address,… Read more

This post jointly authored by: Risa Kaufman, Columbia Human Rights Institute, and David Udell, National Center for Access to Justice On September 15, 2016, access to justice experts from the academic and nonprofit communities gathered for a Consultation with U.S. government… Read more

On October 19, 2016, Fordham Law School marked the arrival of the National Center for Access to Justice (NCAJ) and the launch of the school’s new Access to Justice Initiative, with a pathbreaking public event, Where the Civil and Criminal Justice Systems Meet:… Read more